Dear fellow Christians/Catholics...?

Question

Do you consume pork? Please explain why since the old Testament discourages us from eating pork...

I have also understand that many Christian/Catholic family and friends insist that the new Testament overrides the old Testament but in actual fact Jesus said:

"think not that I am come to destroy the law or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill... Till heaven and earth pass, one jot [a dot of the I] or one tittle [a cross of the T] shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled."

Please read http://www.biblestudy.org/basicart/peruncln.html for more information.

Has that changed your perspective? It sure has changed mine...

Answer 1

Remember, that what you eat and do not eat does not make you "unclean", it is not a matter of salvation and should not be a point of division.
I believe that yes, there is liberty in Christ Jesus our Lord. But, I also know that God has His reasons for the "Rules" He instated in the OT, most of which we have found out with our advancing technology, are for our better health to follow; cleanliness, disease, and so on. He created us and this world. He knew what sin's effects would be, so He gave guidelines.
You and your spouse(if you have one) need to seek God in His Word, pray, and ask the Holy Spirit to speak to your heart and if He convicts your heart to not eat pork, then follow His leading. But if He doesn't then don't worry about it.
For a start, you can check out the references I referred to and see where the Holy Spirit leads.
I hope this helps.

Answer 2

please do not condemn people for eating pork.

okay, I think that arguing over what we eat, how we worship and how what traditions to follow are unneccessary. but you have to read both testaments to get a full understanding of Jesus' fulfillment of the law and the prophets

1) human life really is a pointless thing without Christ: check the first 3 chapters of Ecclesiastes written by Solomon.

2) Jeremiah, Isaiah and the lesser read prophets prophesy about Jesus' life. check Jeremiah 9:9-13 for example.

3) Jesus is the transition of the old into the new. you'll notice that Jesus said "this is the new covenant in my Blood". also, the Jewish laws, feasts and practices were a preceder for Christ's death. Jesus said man cannot earn his way to Heaven, lest anyone should boast.

4) as for the fulfillment of the law, Jesus went on to say that "unless your righteousness surpasses that of the pharisees and teachers of the law then you will not see the kngdom of Heaven". The Pharisees were about piety more than devotion to following God Himself. that same passage also says "not even the smallest stroke will disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished". that 'everything', is all of Christ's work on Earth. -- Matthew 5:17-20

5) Jesus went to the spirit behind the letter. whereas man was told "do not kill", Jesus went further and said "do not hate". whereas man was told "do not dishonour God" Jesus said "do not stop others from honouring God". so you have to think: why was eating pork bad? God wanted Israel to be the example to the nations. pork isn't the healthiest meat and even had some diseases associated with it during the time. however, if eating pork offends your brother, don't do it, as eating it may not be a sin, but insulting your brother is.

Answer 3

Thank God for these answers. At times I have felt alone in believing we are no longer under the old testament and its laws but obviously there are many that feel the same way. I get so tired of going to church and being preached to about the old testament. To me, the one thing that answers all the confusion is the fact that when a person believes on Jesus Christ they are made NEW CREATURES. "the law is for the lawless". The old testament believers were not made new creatures; the new testament believers receive the Holy Spirit of Jesus Christ and do not need law to live properly any more than Jesus did. It is our nature.

Answer 4

Christ did come to fulfill the laws and prophets (the coming of the Messiah) and in doing so he created a new covenant that is why Christianity (though it comes out of the covenant with Abraham is not bound by the laws of Judaism (if we were we would not be allowed to think Jesus was divine).

Even prior to Christianity there were Gentiles that practiced Judaism (read Tacitus and Josephus) they were not bound to the Hebrew dietary or circumcision laws as they were not descendants of Abraham. Those are religious laws based on culture of the Jewish people.

Answer 5

I like pork.

Mark 7:14-15 Then Jesus called the crowd to him once more and said to them, "Listen to me, all of you, and understand. There is nothing that goes into a person from the outside which can make him ritually unclean. Rather, it is what comes out of a person that makes him unclean".

You have to remember, also, Jesus' message was for Jews and Gentiles, alike. The Old Testament was for the Jews and shows what they had to abide by. Looking back, you could never honor every law that was given by God. That is why Jesus died for us. The Gentiles did not abide by these laws and Jesus died for all of us and in doing so, they were able to follow Him, as well.

Answer 6

It has NOT changed my perspective. All has been Fulfilled. Christ was tortured, brutally murdered, buried, arose from the dead, and ascended into heaven. HIS CHURCH began at Pentacost in Acts 2:38 and the Old Testament is "For our learning" according to the Apostle Paul. The New Testament is our written WORD for religious matters. Why aren't you also sacrificing lambs as the Old Testament priests did?? ... OR are YOU?? Have a great evening.
Thanks,
EDs, Non-Denominational Christian


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Answer 7

Please read Mark 7

14Again Jesus called the crowd to him and said, "Listen to me, everyone, and understand this. 15Nothing outside a man can make him 'unclean' by going into him. Rather, it is what comes out of a man that makes him 'unclean.' "[f]

17After he had left the crowd and entered the house, his disciples asked him about this parable. 18"Are you so dull?" he asked. "Don't you see that nothing that enters a man from the outside can make him 'unclean'? 19For it doesn't go into his heart but into his stomach, and then out of his body." (In saying this, Jesus declared all foods "clean.")

20He went on: "What comes out of a man is what makes him 'unclean.' 21For from within, out of men's hearts, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, 22greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly. 23All these evils come from inside and make a man 'unclean.' "


And Acts 10

10And he became very hungry, and would have eaten: but while they made ready, he fell into a trance,

11And saw heaven opened, and a certain vessel descending upon him, as it had been a great sheet knit at the four corners, and let down to the earth:

12Wherein were all manner of fourfooted beasts of the earth, and wild beasts, and creeping things, and fowls of the air.

13And there came a voice to him, Rise, Peter; kill, and eat.

14But Peter said, Not so, Lord; for I have never eaten any thing that is common or unclean.

15And the voice spake unto him again the second time, What God hath cleansed, that call not thou common.

16This was done thrice: and the vessel was received up again into heaven.



And to answer your question no I do not eat pork I dont care for it and I do not eat any kind of fish or shellfish. I do not like these either. And Catholics are Christians

Answer 8

Matthew 19:17-78 states:

Now someone approached him and said, "Teacher, what good must I do to gain eternal life?"

He answered him, "Why do you ask me about the good? There is only One who is good. If you wish to enter into life, keep the commandments."

For Christians, Jesus fulfilled the Law of Moses.

Christians are not held to the ceremonial parts of the Mosaic Law concerning of dietary purity and temple worship.

Christians are held to the moral law of God, some of which is expressed in the Ten Commandments.

However Jesus took the Ten Commandments to the next step summarizing them into the two Great Commandments:
+ You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.
+ You shall love your neighbor as yourself.

And teaching things like
+ Everyone who looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart.
+ Everyone is our neighbor including our enemies.

Therefore we have to go much farther than the original recipients of the Ten Commandments ever dreamed.

With love in Christ.

Answer 9

And it was said you shall eat only of the cloven hoof, I am a catholic and I have eaten pork all my life, in old times a pig was seen as filth that's how the law came into play. back then man really made up some vary stupid rules and laws, God never told them what they should or should not eat, it was just another man made law.

Answer 10

Yes, I do eat pork. God gave those dietary laws in the O.T.
I agree that pork, shrimp, lobster, etc. are not healthy to eat. I don't believe it's a sin to eat them though. The law WAS fulfilled by Jesus. The N.T. says that it isn't what goes in the mouth, but what comes out of it, that defiles a man.
Also see Romans 14.